Railroad-gate



(No Model.)

' yB. B. WELLS.

RAILROAD GATE. No. 369,624. Patented Sept. 6, 1887.

WITJVES'SES UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.,

BENAGER E. WELLS, OF BYRON, NEBRASKA.

RAILROAD-GATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 369,624, datedSeptember 6, 1887.

Application filed June 16, 1887. Serial No. 241,514. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, BENAGER E. WELLs, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at Byron, in the county of Thayer and State ofNebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inRailroad-Gates; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to lettersor figures of reference marked thereon,which form a part of thisspecification.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements inrailway-gates, the object of my invention being to provide a railwaygatewhich will be simple, cheap, and effective, and not liable to get out oforder, the same being adapted to be operated by a train when itapproaches the gate.

With the above object in view my invention consists in the constructionand combination of the parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth,and specifically pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate my invention, Figure l isaplan view of a railway-gate constructed in accordance with myimprovement, and Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken through theline x :c of Fig.1.

In the accompanying drawings, A refers to the rails of the track, whichare supported upon cross-ties A', said cross-ties adjacent to the gatebeing connected to each other on their upper edges by beams a, whichextend parallel with the rails, while the under sides of the ties A areconnected by beams a.

B B refer to the horizontal portions of the gates which may consist of aseries of horizontal bars, which are rigidly attached to the posts C,which-posts are provided, near their lower ends, with shoulders c, whichlie above recesses formed in the beams a. The lower or circular portionsof the posts turn in the recesses, within which theyare held by suitablestaples, d. Beneath the beams a the posts are provided with pulleys D,which are rigidly attached thereto, and beneath the pulleys the posts Chave bearings in the beams a', by which means the gate-posts are held ina vertical position and are free to turn in their bearings. The beams a,which are located above the ties, are provided with inwardly-projectingportions a?, which terminate on each side of the pulleys D, and to theseprojecting portions are pivotally attached or hinged metallic plates E,the ends of which are curved downwardly,'

so that they will be normally at right angles with the railroad-tracks,While their center portions occupy a vertical position and arepractically parallel with the aforesaid tracks; 'Ihese plates E,hereinbefore referred to, are provided with curved or bent arms F, whichare rigidly attached thereto, and to the ends of these arms, whichnormally project toward the rail, are attached chains or other suitableflexible connections, G,which extend from the arms F to the pulleys D,attached to the gateposts opposite thereto, so that when the plates Eare depressed the gate-posts will be turned so as to swing the gates B Bparallel with the tracks.

To hold the gate in a closed position, as

shown in the drawings, I attach to the outer vertical edges of the beamsa springs H, said springs passing through guides or loops attached toone of the cross-ties. To the ends of these springs H H are attached thechains h, which are passed partially around the pulleys D, thespring-pressure holding the gates normally closed.

It will be understood that while I refer to a chain, G, connecting arm Fwith the pulley D at the opposite side of the track,and another chain,h, connecting this pulley with its actuating-spring H, that theseconnections may consist of a single chain leading from arm F around thepulley and thence to the spring,as by either arrangement the operationwould be the same.

In order to prevent the gates swinging beyond a position at right angleswith the railroad-track, I provide vertical posts I, against which theprojecting ends of the gates will abut, and, if desired, these posts orstops I may be provided with bent bars i, which will engage with the topof the post C and help to hold the same in a vertical position. Thegates are normally held in a closed position by the IOO vplates pivotedparallel to the rails of a track and provided with curved bars F,springs secured at one end to a fixed point, and flexible connectionssecured at one end to arms F and passing thence around the pulleys ofthe opposite posts, and secured at their other ends to the free ends ofthe springs.

2. The combinatiomin a railroad-gate,of the pivoted posts C, suitablysupported in a vertical position and provided With pulleys D, chainsattached to the pulleys and connected to springs, which serve normallyto hold thegates in a closed position, plates E, having curved ends,bars F, rigidly attached to said plates andprovidedwith chains, whichextend underthe tracks and round the pulleys D, and verticaloutwardly-projecting ends of the gates abut, the parts being organizedsubstantially as shown, and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

BENAGFfR E. WELLS.

Witnesses:

W. T. STEWART, JOHN RILEY.

30v gosts or stops I, against which the

